Brush roll adjustment for suction cleaners



Jan. "'31, 1950 c. H. TAYLOR BRUSH ROLL ADJUSTMENT FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed Oct. 9, 1946 O R W OR. w iW W I. 5 E w R Y A B H C WITNESSES: 6. 34.

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 31, 1950 ram OFFICE BRUSH ROLL ADJUSTMENT FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Charles H. Taylor, West Springfield, Mass, as-

signor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 9, 1946, Serial No. 702,343

My invention relates to suction cleaning apparatus, more particularly to a device for adjustably mounting the brush roll in the nozzle of a suction cleaner, and it has for an object to provide an improved mounting device.

A further object is to provide a brush roll mounting device constructed so that the brush roll may be quickly mounted thereon and removed therefrom, and so that the brush roll may be readily adjusted to compensate for wear of the hairs or bristles of the brush roll.

A further object is to provide a mounting device including a manually-actuated member which serves both to latch the brush roll to the mounting device and also to adjust the position of the brush roll on the mounting device.

A further object is to provide a simple and inexpensive mounting device of the character described.

These and other objects are eiiected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claim taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the suction cleaner in which the invention is incorporated; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the brush roll and the mounting device therefor removed from the cleaner.

Referring to Fig. 1, the suction cleaner it comprises a body I i formed with a nozzle 12 and enclosing the usual suction fan and its drive motor, wheels l3 for supporting the cleaner, a pivoted handle 94, and a dust bag 15. A revolving brush roll. Hi having tufts of hairs or bristles i1 is mounted in the nozzle [2 to sweep and agitate the carpet being cleaned. The parts so far described may be of conventional construction.

The present invention relates more particularly to the mounting device I8, shown more fully in Fig. 2, for adjustably mounting the brush roll is in the nozzle. The mounting device 58 includes a base member [9 which extends across the mouth of the nozzle in the usual manner to provide a carpet guard, and it is formed with an opening 2| through which the bristles IT project and the dust-laden air enters the nozzle. The mounting device It is removably attached to the nozzle I2 in any suitable manner. It is removed from the nozzle when access thereto is desired, as for adjusting the brush.

Upright support ar end members 22, which may be of sheet metal as shown, are attached to the base member at the opposite ends thereof. 55

for mounting the brush roll.

"1 Claim. (01. 15-363) The end members 22 are formed with vertical slots 23 which are open at the top and closed at the bottom. The brush roll it is provided with projections 24 which are inserted in the slots 23 The projections 24 may be bearings for the brush roll, as in the illustrate-d embodiments, or they may be merely the ends of a shaft extending through the center of the brush roll and which revolves with the brush 1 roll. Both of the last-mentioned arrangements are well known in the art. A spring-biasing member 25 is attached to each end member 22 for biasing the projection 24 upwardly. In the present embodiment, this member comprises a piece of spring wire bent as shown, the lower end being attached to the end member by inserting it through openings in cars 26 and 21. The upper end portion of the spring-biasing member, which portion may be referred to as the spring-biased member 25a, extends horizontally across the slot 23 adjacent the lower end thereof, and then under an ear 28 which serves as a stop to limit upward movement thereof.

A lever or retaining member 3| is pivoted to the end member 22 by means of a pivot pin 32 and extends crosswise of the slot against the top of the projection 24. A latching lever 33 is pivoted to the lever 3| at 34 and is formed with a pawl 35 adapted to engage in any one of four notches 36. The latching lever 33 is biased by a spring 31 in the direction to move the pawl into one of the notches. The levers 3| and 33 have portions 38 and 39, respectively, to provide opposed tabs for actuating the same. The end member is formed with a cam surface 4! adjacent and above the uppermost notch 36. This cam surface is adapted to engage the pawl of the lever 33 to move it outwardly when the lever 3| is moved down across the slot 23.

The brush roll is shown in the uppermost of the four selective positions, that is, the position which properly positions the brush roll when it is new. To remove the brush roll from the mounting device, the levers 3| are turned counterclockwise, as shown in Fig. 2', to open the upper ends of the slots 23. The pawl is released from the notch of each end member by simply moving the tabs 38 and 39 toward each other. The brush roll it may then be removed by simply lifting the same, the projections 24 being withdrawn from the open upper ends of the slots 23. To replace the brush, the projections 24 are again inserted in the slots 23 and the levers 3| are swung across to the top of the slots and then pushed downwardly. The lower edges of the levers will engage the projections 24 before reaching the latched position, so that the spring-biased members 25a will be effective to bias the projections upwardly against the lower edges of the levers. In moving the levers 3| downwardly to the uppermost adjusted position, the operator merely presses down on the tabs 38. The cam surface 4| of each end member moves the pawl to the outer edge of the end member 22 and as soon as the pawl is in registry with the uppermost slot 36, the spring 31 forces it into such slot.

To adjust the brush roll to one of the lower positions, after the bristles have become worn, the operator presses the tabs 38 and 39 toward each other to release each pawl from the notch, and then pushes down on each tab 38 until the lever 3| is brought to the desired position, after which the pawl is allowed to enter the desired notch, whereupon the lever is latched in the desired adjusted position. The spring-biased members 25a hold the projections against the lower edges of the levers 3| in all selective positions.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

In a suction cleaner, brush roll support having two spaced support members formed with relatively deep slots, a rotatable brush roll having projections extendthe combination of a 3 4 ing from the ends thereof and adapted to be received in said slots, each support member having a spring-biased member extending across the slot and biasing the projection from the closed end toward the open end of the slot, and a retaining member pivoted to each support member and extending across said slot adjacent its open end, said retaining member bearing against said projection to hold the same in various adjusted positions against said spring-biased member, and means for latching said retaining member in any one of a plurality of said various adjusted positions, each support member being formed with a plurality of notches and a cam surface, and said latching means comprising a pawl pivoted to said retaining member, said pawl being springpressed to enter said notches and being moved by said cam surface against the spring pressure thereon to permit said retaining member to move until said pawl enters the first notch, when said retaining member is moved into position extending across said slot.

CHARLES H. TAYLOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 0 Number Name Date 2,314,334 Frantz Mar. 23, 1943 2,317,570 White Apr. 2'7, 1943 

